


Till the moon hangs on the jungle gym

by ccm1822



Category: Peek-A-Boo - Red Velvet (Music Video), Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Alternate Universe - Magic, Based off of the peekaboo mv, Domestic Fluff, Eternally trapped in house, Flashbacks, Gen, Other, They are all ghosts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:48:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24313774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ccm1822/pseuds/ccm1822
Summary: Red Velvet is stuck in the house forever, only being released on the full moon. Not dead, not alive.At least Seulgi had Irene.
Relationships: general - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 48





	Till the moon hangs on the jungle gym

Seulgi walked out into the front room of the house, staring out the door, longingly. Her breath fogged up the glass, making the moonlight that shone through it abruptly stop. It had been around a week since the last full moon, it was hard to keep track of time after being stuck in the house for so long. She knew the exact amount of time it took for each full moon to come after the last one. Of course, it wasn’t always exact, but it was pretty close. The amount of time was 29.53 days, much too long. Around a month, and they had to wait. Why did they wait for the full moon?

Well, because they were trapped. Like mice in a cage, squirming around, begging to be free. And every full moon their prayers were answered, for a short while. A little treat, to make the starvation of it all more bearable. Not that they needed to eat, it wasn’t real starvation. It was mental. Imagine, being able to see what you so longed for, but being stopped by an invisible barrier. At least she had the others. If not for them she wasn’t sure she’d ever survive. Not that she had a choice, they were forever. Not alive, not dead. Like ghosts, solid, but blurry from a distance. Able to fade from mortals views, and disappear all together. There watching, but gone. Not that anyone ever came to the house, even if it was well taken care of. The house was very neat for how old it was, Irene made sure of that. 

Seulgi could practically hear her saying “A tidy house makes for a happy home.”

Not that it was home, not even close. It was just a place to wait, wait for the short freedom of the full moon. She longed to see new things, new people, but whenever they came the 5 ghosts scared them off. Making the house shake, and their voices whisper in unsuspecting ears. She didn’t know why they did it, maybe they were scared. If someone bought the house they might tear it down, and as bad as eternity in the house was. Eternity in an empty lot, or a mall would be worse. So they scared each guest, and the town started to produce rumors. Seulgi heard new ones each time the 5 of them ventured out into the town, ready for a night of fun. She could hear the whispers of the drunk teenagers walking down the street, pushing each other towards the house, only to have the one that was pushed scream jokingly and back away. If only they knew the truth, then they wouldn’t find it so funny. Every now, and then people would sneak in, trying to summon spirits, or on a dare, She would watch from the corner, glad for the entertainment, but offended by the intrusion. Yeri, and Joy would always jump around, happy for some fun. They had been young when they had died, and become like this, half-alive, half-dead, so their childish nature had never been lost. In fact being ghosts had amplified in, as it did most emotions, and behaviors. It had made Irene more of a neat-freak, and more caring. It had made Seulgi more clumsy, and more prone to laughter. It had made Wendy even more of a jokester than she already was. The downside was that it had made all of them more sad, more restless, when they thought of what they were. Where they were. She sighed, wiping the glass of her breath. Sometimes she wondered why they still breathed, her body taunted her, telling her she was almost alive. She couldn’t feel pain though, and at times when she felt weak her hands would pass through objects. Anger flashed through her, she didn’t deserve to be like this. No one did. But she was, and she would be forever. 

And only the moon could release her from her prison. 

-

Seulgi skipped down the stairs, her long hair brushing the rail, the red lace crown almost falling off her head. She stumbled, tripping, her long red boots slipping against the green carpeted floor. And then she fell, tumbling all the way back down to the first floor. She would have been dead, or at least in a lot of pain if she were still alive, and she was glad for a short while that she was a ghost. The gladness would have lasted longer had she not hated being a ghost with every fiber of her being. She opened her eyes, dazed from the fall, and saw Irene staring back at her, offering her hand. Seulgi took it. 

“Really Seul?” she asked. “You fell again?”

Seulgi shrugged, going back to walking up the stairs.

“How did you even stay alive so long?” Irene asked.

Seulgi laughed “Luck.”

She then proceeded to run, letting Irene chase her down the long hallways of the house. Her lifeless heart hammered in her chest, but she felt no exhaustion, just a mere imitation of life pounding away. Then, suddenly she stopped at a room near the end of the hall. The library, a room covered in books, and for some unknown reason an array of weapons. She walked in, seeing Yeri sitting in a green chair, clutching a hideously deformed teddy bear. 

“I get that that’s the only stuffed animal we have, but couldn’t you cuddle a pillow?” She asked.

Yeri rolled her eyes. “Says the girl who I saw with this yesterday.”

“I couldn’t sleep.” Seulgi exclaimed.

Irene giggled from behind her, “You don’t need to sleep.”

Seulgi turned around to glare at her. “I like it, and you all sleep too, so don’t tease me about it.”

Yeri got up from the chair, casting the bear aside. “So the bear needed the bear to sleep?” She asked.

The only response Yeri got was a book to the face when Seulgi threw one at her. 

-

Later that day, with boredom eating at her, Seulgi looked for Joy and Wendy, hoping that the two of them wouldn’t tease her like the other girls had. When she found them, it seemed they had been bored, too. In fact, they had been so bored they had decorated a pizza with jewels. 

“How did you even get that?” Seulgi asked.

Joy shrugged. “Irene called them for us, the phone still works.”

Seulgi sighed. “You know we can’t do that, what if we get caught.” Then, fully realizing what Joy had said, she asked, “Irene? Irene would never do that, you know how paranoid she is.”

“Well, we may have not told her what the number was for, or what we were doing,” Joy said.

“We told her we were bored and wanted to do a prank call, and that the call couldn’t be traced.” Wendy piped in.

Seulgi groaned. “Why is Irene so gullible?” She asked herself.

“How’d you get the number?” She asked.

“Full moon, we went and got a phonebook.” Wendy said, twirling a diamond in her hand. “You know, if we were free these would be worth a fortune.” 

“And so would the money,” Joy exclaimed, referring to the pile of cash they had hidden in the fireplace. 

Seulgi sighed, not even bothering to ask if they had used it for the pizza, knowing they had. The money was for full moons, but obviously these two couldn’t follow the rules. And neither could Yeri. Irene and Seulgi had been stuck in the house for a few months before the other girls had come. This meant that the two girls were especially close, but it also meant they had had time to make rules. Rules that it seemed nobody respected.

Leaving the girls to their pizza, she walked to the living room, checking to make sure they had put the money back in the fireplace. They had. The living room was one of the few normal looking rooms in the house, not that it was “normal.” The rest of the house was just weirder, it even had a hall of pizza boy shirts, the leading cause of one of the rumors that the ghosts in the house killed the boys and put their shirts on display. Absurd, Seulgi thought, sitting down on one of the two couches. Some other strange, if not eccentric, things about the house were the empty room that existed for no reason, and the library, of course, with its weapons. Even the old timey bathroom with its razor blades and odd chair in the middle of it, was not distinctly normal. It was a place where nightmares were created, where they had been created. She once again felt hate surge up inside of her. She hated this place.

She hated it.

She hated it.

But it was all she had known, for the 47 years she had been stuck in it. Since 1973, never aging. If it hadn’t been for that night she would be an old lady, she would have had children, grandchildren. She might even have died, finally resting her eyes for the last time, her soul drifting to the heavens.

She wanted that.

She truly did.

But she could not have it.

Ever.

-

While the empty room served no purpose, it was great for dancing. Before Seulgi died, she had loved to dance, twirling through the air. It made her feel free, and in a place where she wasn’t ever free she chased after the feeling. And dancing always gave it to her, but only after the chase was over. So she hauled a clunky old radio over to the room almost every week, sometimes more if she was in a bad mood, and let her body move to whatever song was playing. Letting it liberate her. Normally she might be clumsy, but on the dance floor she was as light as air, and that wasn’t entirely from the fact that she could indeed become as light as air. The song ended, and the radio started to play a car ad. Annoyed that she had been interrupted, she flicked off the radio with a quick turn of the dial. She stalked over to the window, pushing the curtain away, and looked into the backyard. Yeri and Irene sat there, surrounded by the tall stone walls covered in vines. The backyard was a false freedom, they could go out into it, but they couldn’t see out, and no one could see in. The walls were so thick that if they had tried to talk to someone it would have been lost to the wind, not that anyone would have been near it in the first place. If people went near the house, they always went to the front, peeking through the windows. Sometimes the 5 of them would give them a show if they were very drunk, letting them blame the 4 girls circling around another in a circle of candles on the alcohol. After all, they had vanished after a second. 

She ran out into the yard, she usually ran to get from place to place, it was ironic since she had no reason to hurry. Why rush when you have all the time in the world? She didn’t know, but she still ran, as if where she was going was important. Even though it never was. 

“Hey guys!” She called, entering the yard.

Yeri jumped up, pulling her to the old couch that had always sat in the yard. “Come on! We’re reading a book.”

Seulgi sat next to Irene, and looked at the book, the spine said A Collection of Fairy Tales. It was worn, they each had read every book in the library several times, but this was their favorite. Something about the re-readability of fairy tales drew them in. 

“Once Upon a Time,” Irene began.

-

That night Seulgi watched as the moon rose in the sky, hoping in vain she would see the full moon. Of course she didn’t. The very notion was absurd. Still, she watched just to make sure. It was very easy to miscount the days when they were all the same. Moonlight passed through the glass, making her face pale, standing out in the dark. The house had no power, so the only light source at night was the moon, the stars, and occasionally a fire. Tonight though there was no fire lighting up the house, so as she moved away from the window she was consumed by darkness. She strolled through the halls, not being able to run in the dark. It wasn’t that she didn’t know where everything was even when she couldn’t see it, of course she did after all this time, she just simply was too clumsy to risk it. She didn’t need to wake everyone up by falling down the stairs. There was one person she did want to wake though. 

Irene.

She walked to the room she and Irene shared. There were two bedrooms, the one she was heading towards, and the one where the other girls slept, not that they slept most of the time, preferring to play into the night. Of course they did go to bed eventually, which is why when Seulgi peeked into the younger girls room she saw 3 outlines on the bed. She walked to the window, according to the view the girls had gone to bed early. And Seulgi for once had not. It was an unusual occurrence, Seulgi loved sleep. In her dreams she could go anywhere, and if she pushed it long enough she could cut quite a lot of hours out of the day, making the wait for the full moon shorter. Today she was too sad to sleep, it was the beginning of fall. She had loved the fall when she was alive. She could never sleep at this time, her happiest memories had been made then, and they would always force themselves into her mind. Bittersweet.

Seulgi ran up to her house, plucking a leaf out of the air. She had just moved to town, it was 1973. She danced around in the falling leaves, giddy with excitement. 

“Come on girl.” The landlord yelled “We don’t have all day.”

Rude much, she thought to herself. She wouldn’t have chosen to rent a place that was owned by such a jerk, but it was the only thing she could afford. Her parents had died a few years ago, so she couldn’t ask them for money, and she hadn’t inherited a fortune like in the movies. Truth be told she was about a few bucks away from being poor. She was fine with that though, she always had been, and always would be. Money didn’t buy happiness, and that was what she wanted. She picked up her small box of belongings, and deposited it on the floor. Yes, she thought, this will do nicely. 

Her parents left her thoughts soon after she entered the house, she rarely thought of them. They hadn’t been the closest with her, in fact they kind of hated her. Even with all of that, Seulgi had been cursed with a big heart, so she still cried when they died, her heart breaking into shards. She missed them, even if they wouldn’t have missed her. She truly did. She shook her head, realizing she was thinking of them again, and pushed them out of her mind. Today was a happy day, a day of new beginnings. She stepped out of the house, going to retrieve the last box, but stopped when she was greeted by a quiet girl. 

“Hello.” The stranger said “I’m Irene.”

Seulgi looked up, and realized she had reached the room. Quietly she opened the door, so as not to wake the sleeping girl, and walked inside.

It was time for bed. 

-

The sun practically blinded her when she opened her eyes, Irene was standing at the window, leaving the curtains wide open.  
“What are you doing?” She asked.

“I miss it.” Was all Irene said, and Seulgi knew not to pry. They all got like this sometimes, it was best to just leave it alone.

“Come here.” Seulgi opened her arms in a hug, waiting for Irene to take it, and then the other girl did. 

They sat there for a moment, and Seulgi could tell the older girl was trying not to cry. “It’s not okay. Everything’s not okay.”

“It’s okay.” Irene responded.

It had been 38 years since they had first said those words to each other, only 9 years in. In some ways they were like old friends sitting on a porch, watching the world go by. Their bodies were still there, the same, they had just evolved, matured. Their friendship had grown over the years, and they no longer had to say it outright for the other to know they were thinking it, but they still did. The words flowed through Seulgi’s mind, settling in a corner of it, waiting for the next time it would be said. She didn’t know how to make Irene feel better, there wasn’t anything she could to to fix it. What she could do though was ease the pain. So she did, by hugging her lightly, a soft embrace. A silent message that she cared.

They sat there for a while longer, Irene crying in Seulgi’s arms.

But Seulgi didn’t want to leave, because she’d always be there for Irene.

Even in her darkest times.

-

Seulgi, Irene, and Wendy watched as Yeri and Joy walked into the living room.

“We’re here, what do you want?’ Irene asked

Yeri stifled a giggle, and elbowed Joy. “We’re her to perform a show.” She said. 

Wendy smiled, laughing at them. “Well good, I was getting bored reading Alice in Wonderland for the 17th time.”

Seulgi watched as Joy and Yeri began to sing. 

It was a beautiful song, Seulgi couldn’t completely make out the lyrics, but it was something about freedom. The recurring theme that always returned, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it. She tried to focus on the song, glad for the entertainment, but she couldn’t push the restless feeling down once it started. Suddenly, she heard Irene and Wendy clapped, and moved quickly to join them.

“Good job!” Irene exclaimed, hugging Yeri. “You to Joy.” 

Joy rolled her eyes, and walked over to Wendy, slinging her arm around her. “Let’s go play a game.” she said, holding up a worn set of cards. 

Seulgi got up, once again walking over to look at the sky, her restlessness pushed around inside of her, the full moon couldn’t come soon enough. 

Then again, 

It never did. 

-

The rain pitter-pattered on the roof of the attic, where Seulgi sat. She had crawled up into the small room to think, and also for some peace and quiet. Wendy and Joy had been romping around all day, restless, but not wanting to go outside. Yeri on the other hand had run outside the second the rain had started to fall from the sky, pulling Irene out with her. Seulgi had smiled at Irene, and waved, retreating to the attic. Back in the present, she curled up into a ball, lying on the hardwood floor. The attic was sparse, not a single box was there for them to rifle through. Nothing new to find. The only new things they had in the house were things they had gotten during the full moon. A book here and there, a pillow every few years. They had even once stolen a painting a year after they had become trapped, it hung near the phone, an ocean and full moon painted onto its canvas, reminding them of what they were. Everything was a reminder. The books that were worn from use, or the couches that sagged with age. Even the other girls reminded her, their eternal youth, and tired eyes. Seulgi knew each and everyone of them would trade away everything for release from this prison. In movies people had always tried to find eternal beauty, or youth, even immortality, but she knew now that all of those ceased to be fun once you had done everything. What was the point of being young if you could never experience anything for the first time, after all that was why everyone wanted to be young. They wanted to be eternally beautiful so they could have the world, but what happens when the world doesn't want you? Sure they had what everyone wanted, but there was absolutely no point to it. They were lions in a cage. Elegant, powerful, cunning, a sight to behold, but trapped. They did not want to be young forever, not if it meant they had to stay here, never changing, but they didn’t have a choice. No bargains could be made, it was just them. Them and the house. 

Forever and ever. 

-

A few hours later Seulgi heard the creek of the wooden floor boards, and looked up to find Irene.

“Long day?” The girl asked

“Isn’t it always?”

Irene laughed, balancing her lace crown on her head, and lay down on the floor next to Seulgi.  
“I see someone is broody today.” Irene said, poking Seulgi’s nose.

Seulgi didn’t respond, instead she looked into Irene’s eyes, watching her reflection in them. 

“Yep, very broody.” Seulgi said.

Irene laughed, hugging her quickly, before pulling her up.

“C’mon, it’s nice out.” she said, making Seulgi follow her down the stairs, and outside. 

The rain had almost stopped, only a few drops falling every few minutes from the sky. The sunlight shone on the yard, beating down on Seulgi. She reached her fingertips out towards the sun, longing to feel the heat, but feeling nothing. She could not feel heat, nor cold, nor pain. Only touch. She didn’t know why it was so specific, why she could feel the wood of the house, but not the coldness of it. She wanted to, she wanted to so badly. She couldn’t even tell if her own body was hot or cold, she supposed that if a human touched it it would feel like nothing. Lukewarm, in between, just like her. She ran out to the couch sitting down, waiting for Irene to follow her.

“Hurry up.” 

Irene rolled her eyes, sitting down next to Seulgi. “Always in such a hurry.” she teased. 

“Oh be quiet!” 

“Make me.” Irene said.

So Seulgi did, hitting her. It was a friendly slap, one that don’t hurt, but served to show affection. Irene laughed.

-

Later that day Seulgi was in the library, cuddled up with the hideous teddy bear, and trying to read the book of fairy tales, when Wendy barged in. She giggled, but Seulgi ignored her trying to focus on reading. Then suddenly the book was gone, and Wendy with it. She jumped up, chasing after the book thief. This was a game they sometimes played to liven up the day, no girl knew when another would strike. Sometimes they went weeks without a game, and sometimes they played it for days on end. The second one happened rarely though, as it got boring after a while. She walked down the hallway with the pizza boy shirts, sitting behind clean glass. Seulgi chuckled remembering how Irene had made them wash it last week. Then she saw it, or rather her. Wendy was standing behind one of the cases holding the book. Seulgi leapt trying to catch her, but tripped. She pulled herself up, and frowned, noticing that the girl was gone. Dusting herself off she began the chase anew. 

It had been around half an hour, maybe more and Seulgi still couldn’t catch Wendy. She needed help, and who was more help than Irene. 

“IRENE!” she called, very loudly.

Making the girl run out, looking worried. “What?”

“I need your help, Wendy has a book I was reading,” Then Seulgi whispered. “we’re playing the game.”

Irene nodded, and stepped forward, holding her hand. “Let’s go get them.”

-

Seulgi was glad that Irene had helped her or else she wouldn’t be holding the book right now. She tossed it down on the chair, back in the library, before deciding to pick it up and put it on the shelf. Irene wouldn’t like it if she made a mess, and she had just helped her, so she owed her one. She flopped down on the floor bored, and then she heard it.

Footsteps.

Seulgi grinned, turning invisible to everyone, but herself and the others. Someone had decided to enter the abandoned house, and as much as it annoyed her, them touching and messing with their stuff, it was good entertainment. She rushed down to the first floors where the others had already gathered, a boy was there, he had blond hair, and a smile on his face. Seulgi grinned, that smile would be gone soon. She didn’t like scaring the people that trespassed and entered their home, but it was better than nothing. And nothing was what everything turned into after you used it, or did it enough. The newness of the visitor excited her, he was young, not young like them, but actually in his youth. She walked up, standing right next to him. She felt Irene’s hand close around her wrist, a silent warning. Seulgi looked back at her, and winked. Then, she took her foot, and tripped him. The 5 of them watched as panic filled his eyes, as he looked around, and saw that nothing had knocked him over. She felt a little bit of guilt creep in, but ignored it watching as Yeri made the curtains shake. The boy got up and ran, picking up a book as he went. Irene frowned, and followed him, snatching the book from him, putting it back where it went. The rest of the girls laughed at both Irene’s face, and the boys. Irene’s was twisted into a scowl, she hated people who tried to steal from them, and the boy’s face was priceless. He looked terrified. Seulgi thought he deserved it after trying to steal from them. The boy knew he wasn’t supposed to trespass, and steal things from the house, but he had. So Irene had scared him, it was a fitting punishment for the crime. Tit for tat. Yeri and Joy high fived each other, and pushed Wendy forward. The girl fiddled with her hands before walking up to him, and pushing him towards the door. And that was all it took, the boy ran screaming from the house. 

Seulgi supposed next full moon she would have some new rumors to listen to. 

-

She sat on the couch watching as Wendy and Yeri brandished weapons. She smirked as an arrow and axe flew past her head.

“Good aim!” she said

“We weren’t aiming for your head.” Yeri groaned, she turned to Wendy, “So stop acting smug.”

Wendy giggled, and raised her crossbow again, shooting an arrow mere centimetres from Seulgi’s face. She didn't blink, but just turned her head slightly to watch it fly by. 

Yeir threw her axe, but it stopped mid air when Irene caught it. “C’mon Seulgi.” she said.

Seulgi got up, running towards her, ignoring the whispered “Rude.” by Yeri. 

“What?” She asked

Irene shrugged “I wanted to hang out.”

Seulgi smiled, at least she had Her friends.. 

Nothing was as hard with them.

“Well then let’s hang out.” She said. 

She might of been stuck there for eternity, but she also had an eternity of love, and friendship ahead of her.

And love conquers all.


End file.
